The Time Traveler
by firefly-hwufanficwriter
Summary: (Endless Summer.) (MC/Jake.) (Grace/Aleister.) Using a time travel gun prototype, Jake McKenzie travels back to the past. By encouraging friendships between everybody to build up trust and teach each other skills, he hopes to stop a terrible future from happening.
1. (Jake) The Beginning

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Choices. This fun game belongs to Pixelberry! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter One: The Beginning**

* * *

Jake didn't have much time, and his past self – whom he called McKenzie in his mind because the situation was already crazy enough without having two Jakes in the same room – wasn't helping, refusing to believe that he had traveled back in time, even after Jake had told him many things that nobody else knew.

Because the enemy had destroyed many of the labs on the islands, Jake had to resort to using a prototype of a future gun instead of the real thing, and he had figured out from the notes placed with the prototype that it could only send him back in time temporarily. When the power ran out, his body would be back in his own time.

At least, it was just his body. Grace, during her time in captivity, had found a device in another lab that could transfer memories between two people if they had similar DNA. It had a slight chance of working if the two people were parent and child; a stronger chance of working if they were siblings; and it was one hundred percent effective if the two people in question were identical twins – or, in Jake and McKenzie's case, exactly the same person. Jake had asked Grace how she had known all those things.

She had pretended not to hear him.

But her pretending not to hear him was better than his own past self pretending not to hear him, or, at least, pretending not to understand him. Because McKenzie _did_ understand what Jake was telling him. He could lie to anybody in the entire world – except to Jake.

Crossing his arms disbelievingly, McKenzie scoffed, "And why should I believe you? Besides the fact that you could be lying, meddling with time is the number no-no in all those cheesy time travel movies. This is… different."

Jake looked at his past self, seeing the tough-guy act for what it was – a way to protect himself from the rest of the world. But Jake couldn't protect McKenzie from the terrible truth because there was somebody else he had to protect above all others.

"Different doesn't mean wrong. Not in this case, anyway. I had to do this. You have to believe me," said Jake urgently, taking a side glance at the draining battery of his future gun prototype. "It's the only way to prevent it."

"Prevent what?"

In a moment, the terrible time he had come from flashed before Jake's eyes, and he only said one word in response.

"Everything."

And something in Jake's voice seemed to reach McKenzie.

"Okay, then," he said gruffly. "Just do it before I change my mind."

* * *

Following the sounds of talking and laughter, Jake arrived at the pool, where he realized that he had traveled back to Raj's feast – the one he and Quinn had put together, with MC's help, to unite their group. He had been skeptical the first time around, but not this time. This time, he would help.

Jake looked around. It was strange to see them so healthy and so young. Grace was still cheerful; Aleister was still aloof; Craig was still playful…

…and Michelle still had her hands.

Michelle, who Jake had thought was a spoiled little rich girl, had come to him and Estela one day and had asked to be trained in fighting, saying that MC had told her that they were the people to ask. Jake hadn't wanted to do it, thinking she was too straight-laced to be able to do any real damage, but Estela had seen something in her eyes that made her say yes.

She was the dark horse in their little band – the one who looked like she wouldn't get her hands dirty, but could fight like a lioness if cornered. But one day, she was caught, and her hands…

Jake didn't want to think about what happened to her hands.

Eventually, she escaped. She had learned from Estela how to navigate in the forest in the dark, and she made her way back to their sorry hideout, just in time to see Raj spread out on a couch with a near-fatal injury. Their remaining friends surrounded him, not knowing what had to be done.

 _She_ knew. Michelle, who had wanted to be a doctor her whole life, who had studied for hours and hours every night to be a doctor, knew. But her hands…

Tears streaming down her cheeks, she barked out medical commands that nobody else could understand. She had to stop several times and think, and use simpler words, so that they could understand what she meant. In the dim light, she tried to verbally point out things only she knew the names of, describing with all her might, comparing arteries and nerves and veins to string and spiderwebs and whatever else she could think of to describe to make things as clear for them as possible. But time was of the essence, and no matter what they did, the delays between directions and actions were too much.

Raj bled out and died.

Sean and MC turned to her, ashamed that they couldn't understand in time, that they couldn't see what she saw; the minute differences in flesh and blood and bone that were so clear to her and so unknown to them. But Michelle hardly noticed them, throwing herself over her friend's body and sobbing that it was her fault; that she, who had studied all her life to be a doctor, couldn't save him. She cried over his body the whole night, gently carried away by Sean only after she was too exhausted to resist.

Michelle was never really the same after that.

* * *

Shaking his head, Jake tried to think of other things, looking around for a distraction.

And, as if he were in a sappy movie, time seemed to stop when he turned and saw MC.

Because she was standing. Smiling.

 _Whole._

* * *

(End of Chapter One.) (Originally posted on T-02/04/17.) (F-15/06/18.)

* * *

 **Chapter One notes:** (B01-C07.) This is the first chapter of my first ever Choices fanfic! It is SUPER weird for me to write a fanfic without weeks of planning and a color-coded outline to keep everything on track, so I hope this made sense! This chapter takes place during Book One, Chapter Seven. To be more specific, it's right before they sit down to eat together during Raj's feast. The part about Michelle's hands was actually supposed to be a little more descriptive, but I thought that might be too much for the first chapter… Also, these three lines ("It's the only way to prevent it." "Prevent what?" "Everything.") are from the television show Heroes :D

 **About my main Pixelberry fanfic:** Hello! :) If you like Pixelberry's Hollywood U or Pixelberry's Red Carpet Diaries, then I encourage you to read my MC/Hunt fanfic "NYTMC 1: Not Your Typical Meet-Cute." It currently has 219,000 words (64 chapters), and it is written from Thomas Hunt's perspective :D

 **(Thanks for reading! :D Reviews make me smile! ^_^)**


	2. (Diego) The Scar That Didn't Exist

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Choices. This fun game belongs to Pixelberry! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: The Scar That Didn't Exist  
**

* * *

Diego thought that feast was a great idea. Everybody needed to cool down and remember that they were on the same side, and stuffing them with food so that they were too full to get into arguments was a great way to do it. Not exactly a sustainable way, because they would eventually have to start conserving food, but for tonight, the idea was just right.

He wished he had great ideas like that, but he had always felt like the sidekick to the people around him. Sidekicks didn't get to go on grand quests or slay dragons… or even think of great ideas like feasts.

After setting down the last platter of cupcakes on the table - he hadn't been of any use in the kitchen, so he had offered to help Quinn carry out the cupcakes - he stepped back from the table and bumped into somebody.

Hoping that he hadn't bumped into somebody hotheaded, like Craig or Zahra - or worse, Estela, because that girl seemed like the unpredictable type - he turned around and was surprised to see Jake…

…who blurted out, "You look different without the scar."

Diego was confused. He had never had a scar on his face that he could remember. "What scar?"

As he patiently waited for an explanation, he noticed that Jake was looking increasingly flustered.

"Uh…"

And, he could hardly believe his eyes, but right in front of him, the tough pilot of their group… _scampered_ away from him.

Diego had the strangest feeling that, like a character in an RPG video game, he had just stumbled onto a new quest.

Maybe, on this strange island, even sidekicks got quests too.

* * *

It was a lot easier in video games because there was usually an indicator of what to do or where to go as soon as a character accepted a quest. With no miniature world map flashing in the upper right side of his vision with red arrows telling him where to go, it was up to him to navigate through this mystery himself. He started by settling down near Jake as they all sat down to eat.

That decision paid off right away when he noticed how Jake stared at the serving dishes in front of him - the sizzling roast pork, the savory sauces, the juicy fruits, the sweet desserts - with confusion and surprise, still only looking at the food even after everybody else had already filled their plates and helped themselves, talking about how delicious everything on the table was.

But Jake wasn't. Instead, the pilot was staring at the food as if… as if he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten freshly cooked food before. His eyes - which Diego could look at without Jake noticing because he was still so preoccupied with the food in front of him - held the look of a man who had suffered extreme starvation.

Which would have made sense - the guy used to be in the military, so it could have been connected to past experiences - except for the fact that he had seen Jake eat food before and he hadn't acted this way before at all. He had just filled up his plate and eaten normally like everybody else.

So why was he acting this way now?

Diego looked away. If the man had starved, truly starved, at some point, the last thing he needed was somebody gawking at him just for appreciating the food in front of him.

* * *

As he ate, Diego paid more attention to the others at the table, pleased at how people who were hostile to each other earlier were now chatting happily about the food, drinks, and beautiful decorations. Raj's well-meant, though admittedly really cheesy, toasts also gave everybody a reason to smile.

But they didn't smile the way Jake did as he looked at MC, who was obliviously chatting with Michelle and Grace. He looked at her as if he knew her; and cared for her; and wanted to protect her.

And if that had been all of it, Diego would have understood. Maybe the pilot had a crush on MC or something. MC was really great, so he certainly couldn't blame Jake for having good taste.

But the really weird thing was, Jake didn't just smile. Sometimes he would also just look at her with some kind of emotion Diego couldn't interpret. Because he looked at her as if… as if… He tried to think of a comparison.

After a moment, a couple of lines from a song Diego had heard on the radio came to mind. ( _"I need saving… Can you be the one to save me?…"_ )

Jake looked at her as if, somehow, he hoped _MC_ would save _him._

Maybe Diego was wrong. But if he was right, it would be problematic. Having such high expectations from MC couldn't be good for MC - or for Jake himself, for that matter…

As Diego contemplated how he could learn more about Jake and MC's current… or future… or whatever… relationship without being too obvious, he offhandedly wondered whether this was a main quest or a side quest - and what the quest rewards would be. Experience points? Unlocking a skill tree? Gold?

Nah, gold bricks were too heavy. Diamonds would be a better way to go.

* * *

(End of Chapter Two.) (T-04/04/17.) (F-15/06/18.)

* * *

 **Chapter Two notes:** (B01-C07.) This line ("You look different without the scar.") is from the television show Heroes :D Jake was spooked by making such a blunder so early on, which is why he scampered away like a mouse XD I guess he isn't too used to being a time traveler! And I figured that a quiet guy like Diego would be the observant type, so he got the "quest!" **  
**

 **About my main Pixelberry fanfic:** Hello! :) If you like Pixelberry's Hollywood U or Pixelberry's Red Carpet Diaries, then I encourage you to read my MC/Hunt fanfic "NYTMC 1: Not Your Typical Meet-Cute." It currently has 219,000 words (64 chapters), and it is written from Thomas Hunt's perspective :D

 **(Thanks for reading! :D Reviews make me smile! ^_^)**


	3. (Sean) Unexpected Advice

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Choices. This fun game belongs to Pixelberry! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Unexpected Advice  
**

* * *

Sean looked around his room, searching for something. After the party, most of the people had gone to their rooms, but Sean, already knowing what he wanted to do, had grabbed things that would help him in his plans.

After a minute, he found the rope and placed it in his backpack. Sean would have to leave soon. He planned on slipping out a back door early so that he would be on his way before anybody knew it.

Turning to look at his open door to try to see if it would creak on his way out, he was startled to see Jake standing several feet away, just outside the open door.

Internally, Sean sighed.

He was willing to believe that Jake was a good guy, but for somebody who was ex-military, he was pretty lazy and self-centered. He should have been the person everybody could depend on - instead, he wasted his time lounging by the pool and taking naps when he could have been investigating with the rest of them instead.

"Whatcha doin' over there, Quarterback?"

"Nothing, Jake," Sean replied, annoyed. All he wanted was for the other man to leave so that he could resume his packing. He had to concentrate so that he wouldn't forget anything, and a distraction like this really didn't help.

The pilot made a disbelieving noise. "Doesn't look like nothing," he said, stepping into the room and walking to Sean's bag to take a peek inside. "Rope, flashlight, helmet? Nope, definitely not nothing."

Even more irritated now, Sean grabbed the bag and pulled it away from Jake. "Why do you even care?"

"Because I know what you're planning on doing - and I'm going to stop you."

* * *

Sean stared at Jake in horror. He was a traitor?

So that was why he didn't want to help; he was in on whatever this whole thing was. The whole "trying to get to his airplane" thing was probably an act to build up trust. His plane had been destroyed, but maybe getting a new plane was part of the deal he made with… them.

Not privy to Sean's thoughts, Jake scooted over and looked into the bag again. The football player didn't notice, his mind still racing.

But why would anybody send Jake to try to get in with him and his classmates? And why target them in the first place? Who was in charge of this whole thing? He had to do something. Jake was here all alone with him. He would just act first and explain later to everybody. One good punch should-

"I mean, it's good that you thought of bringing gear, but this is all wrong."

That was not what Sean had been expecting.

"…What?"

Jake started taking items out of Sean's bag, critiquing each thing as he did so.

"This rope is about twenty feet long, which is pretty much useless if you're climbing up a mountain - or volcano, in this case. If you tie yourself to anything with rope this short, you wouldn't get the leverage you need to pull yourself up if you fall. You'd be hanging forever from the side of the volcano, like a string of sausages at a butcher shop."

He continued.

"This flashlight is fine - if you're playing hide and seek outside by the pool. You need a heavy-duty flashlight with you since mountains have all sorts of holes and small caverns that you could fall into if you're not careful. Don't skimp on the light just because you think you'll be back here before nightfall. And don't even get me started on that helmet you found. If a rock even as small as your fist drops from higher up, that thin plastic won't save you from a concussion. And did you even pack a first aid kit?"

* * *

Extremely shocked, Sean repeated dumbly, "What?"

The pilot dumped out all of the contents of the bag onto the floor. "I know you heard me."

"I did," Sean replied, still surprised, "but I didn't expect you to be so… helpful."

Jake shrugged.

"Maybe I've had a change of heart. Besides, somebody has to give you some advice. Being a Boy Scout for six years may have taught you a few things," he smirked, "but your survival knowledge could use an upgrade or two."

"Hey!" the football player protested - then laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Looking at the items on the floor critically, Jake observed, "You had the right idea to gather this stuff, but you need more durable equipment for what you're planning. And there's something else you need. Something very important."

Sean's brow furrowed. "What's that?"

"Backup," said Jake seriously. "You're probably trying to protect everybody by going alone, but doing this without any help is just stupid. You may be good with football, but I don't think that's going to help when it comes to figuring out a satellite uplink."

That was true. Maybe Sean could climb up the volcano, but what would he do once he got there? What if the observatory was sealed, or needed some kind of password? He would need help.

"Well, have fun on your scavenger hunt, Quarterback," Jake said, getting up and walking towards the door. "I'm going to go back to sleep. I'll need to be well-rested to run in case a dinosaur decides it wants pilot for lunch tomorrow. Don't forget to pack nonperishable food for everybody."

Casually waving goodbye without looking back, Jake sauntered out of the room, leaving Sean surprised, confused… and grateful.

* * *

As Sean looked for paper and a pen so that he could write down a list of what equipment he needed to look for, he wondered - how did Jake know that Sean had been a Boy Scout for six years?

He shrugged. Maybe Jake had just thought that Sean had seemed like the Boy Scout type, or something.

* * *

(End of Chapter Three.) (T-05/04/17.) (F-15/06/18.)

* * *

 **Chapter Three notes:** (B01-C08.) Jake found Sean while the MC was still asleep. By the time she woke up, Sean was out looking for better equipment, so they never had the talk they had in the game. I've been reading posts about Sean not getting enough credit, or being written into a story only to make the MC jealous, so I wanted to give him some of the spotlight in this chapter. And Jake made another slip of the tongue like he did with Diego… poor guy! **  
**

 **About my main Pixelberry fanfic:** Hello! :) If you like Pixelberry's Hollywood U or Pixelberry's Red Carpet Diaries, then I encourage you to read my MC/Hunt fanfic "NYTMC 1: Not Your Typical Meet-Cute." It currently has 219,000 words (64 chapters), and it is written from Thomas Hunt's perspective :D

 **(Thanks for reading! :D Reviews make me smile! ^_^)**


	4. (Jake) Droplets and Stars

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Choices. This fun game belongs to Pixelberry! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Four: Droplets and Stars**

* * *

Jake had expected everything today to happen the way it did the first time - he would wave goodbye to those who were leaving and then spend the entire morning relaxing by the pool. There had been no conversation with MC.

So why was MC standing in front of him?

She smiled at him and spoke, and it seemed like the most beautiful thing in the world, to see her walking _on her own,_ talking _on her own…_ yet somehow, he felt a twinge of something in his heart, and he didn't know what to call it.

Nevertheless, he found out that MC was there to ask Jake if he would join their group - and that it was Sean's idea.

After a few more minutes of conversation, she gave him a final smile before returning to the others to say her own goodbyes.

Jake thought about what had just happened. Of course, now that the option was on the table, there was no doubt that he would join them. He knew the wilderness and mountains of La Huerta better than everybody else here combined; he knew what - or better yet, who - to avoid. So of course he was coming.

But why did he feel slightly unsettled?

* * *

He panted as he batted away thin, low branches with overly large, deep green leaves. He was used to traveling in these parts, but strangely enough, on this hike, he became somewhat fatigued after walking for only a short time - or, at least, short compared to what he was used to.

Jake surmised that it was because of his body - while he retained his memories of the future, he still had the body of his younger self, which was more accustomed to piloting rather than actual hiking. The stamina he had built up in the future, both in relation to exercise as well as his tolerance to La Huerta's stifling humidity, were both things he would have to get used to once again.

After stepping over a particularly large tree root, Jake wiped his brow. "Whew! It's hotter than a Turkish bath out here!"

Surprised, MC turned to him as they both continued to walk. "You hang out at Turkish baths a lot, Hotness?"

* * *

The question startled him for a moment, before he remembered where he was - in the past, before all the little flirtations and short slips of the tongue that eventually turned into long talks about anything and everything. He had been so used to MC knowing certain things about him that it took him a second before remembering that this MC barely knew him at all. He gave a small laugh to cover up his mixed emotions.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Thinking that to be the end of the conversation, he was about to turn away from MC and look ahead for the large boulder that he knew was just a few meters up ahead, which had been one of their distance markers in the future…

…when MC commented slyly, "If you're hot, you could always just take off your shirt."

 _Take off your shirt. Take off your shirt._

MC had said that to him more times than he could count. But in the last handful of times that he could barely remember, it wasn't for any frivolous purpose - it was normally after he had sustained some type of injury after it was his turn to go on a mission that required him to leave their hideout. Blood loss being what it was, things went woozy after a while, and before he slipped into unconsciousness the last thing he would remember was MC - or Michelle, being their resident field medic - telling him to take off his shirt…

But Jake wasn't there. He was here, in the past. What should he say?

"You bring me out here just to ogle me?"

In response, she grinned and said, "Maybe."

He should have been happy at that response, but somehow he wasn't. She had invited him along and she had admitted to maybe liking to look at him. That could be the start of what they used to have - or will have? Time travel was confusing - but why didn't he feel happy? Why did he instead feel… something else?

And why couldn't he put into words what that something else was?

* * *

Trying to breeze past his own confusing feelings, he replied flirtatiously, "I'm not that easy. You gotta wine and dine me first."

Winking at him, she replied saucily, "I could do that."

And she happened to miscalculate the length of her next stride, her foot avoiding sturdy dirt and instead making contact with slippery moss, and she was falling forwards to the ground.

But Jake caught her flailing arm, quickly taking her by the hand to help her up, and in the few moments when all of that took place, he happened to glance at her smooth, unmarked arm…

…and the feelings of _strangeness_ throughout the day suddenly made perfect sense, and Jake felt **sick.**

How could he, even for a single moment, compare this woman to his MC?

Jake's MC, with her thin strands of straw-colored hair; her body showing the bones most of them did from starvation; her scars earned from skirmishes and battles and ambushes and injuries - his MC had been all the sparkling droplets of water in the endless ocean and all the twinkling stars in the crazy, one-of-a-kind La Huerta sky.

But this younger MC, with her perfect, wavy blonde tresses; her body almost grotesquely healthy; her skin smooth and unmarked; her footsteps taken with careless fluidity that made her seem like she feared nothing in the world - she was nothing more than a pale imitation of the woman Jake had, and still, loved. She almost seemed like she wasn't real.

It was like looking into a mirror.

And how could Jake love a mere reflection?

* * *

(End of Chapter Four.) (T-17/04/17.) (F-15/06/18.)

* * *

 **Chapter Four notes:** (B01-C08.) Originally, I had a written a different Chapter Four, one that had lighthearted flirting between Jake and the MC. But the more I thought about it, I realized that something about that chapter felt… off. Since he essentially left behind everything, and everyone, in the future, I thought that Jake would have more feelings of conflict about loving this younger MC because, on some level, he might feel like he was betraying _his_ MC. He wants to save the younger MC, yes, but I think that he also needs time so that he can fall in love with her for herself, not because he's expecting her to be exactly like the future MC someday. **  
**

 **About my main Pixelberry fanfic:** Hello! :) If you like Pixelberry's Hollywood U or Pixelberry's Red Carpet Diaries, then I encourage you to read my MC/Hunt fanfic "NYTMC 1: Not Your Typical Meet-Cute." It currently has 219,000 words (64 chapters), and it is written from Thomas Hunt's perspective :D

 **(Thanks for reading! :D Reviews make me smile! ^_^)**


	5. (Grace) Say No to Sitcoms

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Choices. This fun game belongs to Pixelberry! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Five: Say No to Sitcoms**

* * *

Grace prided herself on being an observant person, but what had just occurred confused her. Just for a few moments, Jake had a terrible look of sorrow on his face, as if something were very, very wrong. That distraught look in his eyes had lasted only a couple of seconds before he had the presence of mind to hide it. MC, who had been brushing herself off from her near-slip, hadn't seen his expression at all, but Grace had.

The most logical reason Grace could think of was that Jake had blamed himself for MC's near-fall, but since she hadn't even made contact with the ground, self-recrimination to that extreme wouldn't have made any sense. So it had to be something else. Perhaps a bad memory?

She didn't know what had caused it, but being the curious person she was, she resolved to watch Jake little more closely until she figured out. Which probably meant watching MC as well, since those two seemed to stick together like protons and electrons these days.

There was a little voice in the back of her head that told her that she was only focusing on the group's most obvious future couple so that she could observe their flirting and possibly apply it to her interactions with… _somebody…_ but she firmly told that voice to _be quiet,_ because that was certainly _not true._

* * *

After a short break to have lunch, they continued their hike, but unfortunately, the fairly amicable atmosphere changed very quickly.

"He's right not to listen to Sean. Why trust him? He says what he wants, but leaving everybody behind is what he's the best at."

"Michelle, I'd be very surprised if you actually include yourself in that 'everybody' you're referring to. Do you _really_ think _you_ can talk about trust with any credibility whatsoever?"

She didn't know the whole story. How could she? These people barely spoke to her, and she to them, before they were stranded here. But there was something in Michelle's voice that instinctively called out to Grace, a strained note that she understood - if not completely, then at least to some extent. Because Grace knew about trust; she knew about people who make promises to be there, but end up leaving others instead. Promises to listen, to care, to stay and not leave for another business meeting or technological conference.

To be fair, the promises ran out after a certain point.

Perhaps that was for the best.

* * *

Of all the people present, Zahra was probably the last person Grace would have expected to verbally disagree with, but the ongoing conversation made Grace so sad for her that she had to say something.

"Why not take the chance to open up to somebody? Spending your whole life being afraid… is that any way to live?"

Zahra looked at her incredulously.

"What are you talking about? Grace, you screamed when Raj let out that loud burp last night! Everything under the sun scares you!"

She did have a point.

"Well, I _am_ afraid of heights, since you can, you know, die from them - and snakes try to bite you - and clowns are so absurdly cheerful they start to look like demented monsters after a while - and crustaceans are just plain scary - but those are all… _things._ Being close to somebody, being vulnerable with somebody; that's something different altogether…"

* * *

Grace trailed off. Maybe she was being stupid. It wasn't as if she had any experience in love and romance.

The first time Grace truly noticed Aleister was when he explained to her why the tree she found had wrapped itself around a metal fence, saying that the mineral-rich soil of the La Huerta island was conducive to plant growth. He hadn't even been trying to show off; he had simply answered her question as if that sort of knowledge was familiar to him and sharing it had seemed like the logical thing to do.

That had meant something to Grace, whose own knowledge was either too much that it was alienating to her peers, or too little that it was irrelevant to her mother's sphere of interest. The chance to have somebody with whom she could be herself, and be able to converse intelligently without feeling like she had to apologize - because sometimes she _did_ feel that she was supposed to, but Aleister hadn't; in fact, he had gotten offended at the mere idea that he should apologize simply for knowing more about the world than others.

But she was sure that that didn't have anything to with romance, because people who were interested in each other acted like… well, acted like Jake and MC, who went on private jet ski excursions and were partners in swimming pool games and flirted with each other nonstop.

It wasn't like that with her. She was only getting to know one of her classmates better. She felt like she had a connection with Aleister. They both had great respect for knowledge; she admired his strong sense of self; and, sometimes, when he was lost in thought and started glaring at random items in the hotel for some reason, Grace wanted to reach out and ask him what was wrong.

"Not that I… ever really have. But I _want_ to."

* * *

Grace blinked. Without planning to, _she_ had said those words out loud - while she had been in the middle of thinking about Aleister.

How… interesting.

On one hand, she could follow the tried-and-true sitcom route and deny her newfound feelings for weeks and months and years, resulting in misunderstandings and painful experiences that could have easily been avoided.

But on the other hand, she could handle this like a mature adult, by acknowledging her feelings and brainstorming how she could explore them in a way she was comfortable with.

Well. As a reasonable human being, Grace certainly knew what her choice was going to be.

* * *

(End of Chapter Five.) (T-26/04/17.) (F-15/06/18.)

* * *

 **Chapter Five notes:** (B01-C08.) I wrote Grace's chapter this way because I think this is the way her character is and the way she would fall in love. Also, little things Jake does, even if they're not on purpose, have an effect on other characters. If Jake hadn't looked horrified, then Grace wouldn't have given him a second thought. He's building up a club of mini-stalkers… Diego thinks he's a quest of some sort, Grace intends to observe him more closely, and Sean noticed a slip-up he made as well XD **  
**

 **About my main Pixelberry fanfic:** Hello! :) If you like Pixelberry's Hollywood U or Pixelberry's Red Carpet Diaries, then I encourage you to read my MC/Hunt fanfic "NYTMC 1: Not Your Typical Meet-Cute." It currently has 219,000 words (64 chapters), and it is written from Thomas Hunt's perspective :D

 **(Thanks for reading! :D Reviews make me smile! ^_^)**


	6. (Sean) Sabertooth Eating Habits

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Choices. This fun game belongs to Pixelberry! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Six: Sabertooth Eating Habits**

* * *

Sean wiped his brow as Jake led the group deeper into the forest. The sweltering, sticky heat they all felt was made worse by the little insects that buzzed around them. They had already encountered the sabertooth tiger - he really hoped that they didn't see some humongous mosquito with a sucker as long as a telephone pole, or something.

Then, without warning, Jake suddenly stopped. Quickly, as if he had done so many times before, his left hand performed three signals, the third being a closed fist.

"Uh, guys? Jake's being weird."

"Don't know what you're protesting, dude, but I'm with ya!"

Startled, Jake turned back to see Zahra, Craig, and everybody else, including Sean, looking at him strangely - and some strange emotion passed over his face for just a second, but Sean had no time to think about that because all of a sudden, Jake and MC were hustling everybody towards the tall ferns to the right of the trail to hide from something only they could see.

* * *

"I hope they're alright," Grace murmured as she peered into the path Jake and MC had disappeared into. "What's taking them so long?"

"I don't know," replied Sean worriedly. The two of them had made some kind of near-silent agreement to go after whatever had been watching them, leaving the rest of them hiding behind the tall ferns.

Zahra shrugged as she absentmindedly cut into a bright green leaf with a knife. "Better them than me."

"Did they get a good look at what they went after?" Sean asked. "What if it's the sabertooth?"

"You're right, dude! What if the sabertooth eats them?! That huge cat could be having a really good lunch right now!"

"Unlikely, Craig," said Grace as she looked into space, her brow furrowing. "According to the size of the sabertooth that accosted us, its stomach would only have space for one fully-grown human. Besides, if it follows the hunting habits of the feline family, it will instinctively chase around and play with its prey before eating it."

Looking up from her now-shredded leaf, Zahra raised her eyebrow at Grace. "Your point, dork?"

"Merely that if the sabertooth were hungry, it wouldn't be able to eat both Jake and MC-"

Michelle sighed in relief. "Well, that's good-"

"-it would be able to eat only one of them, and the other, while mauled, may be able to make their way back to us before collapsing from exhaustion and blood loss."

 _"Grace!"_ admonished Michelle.

"…Well, they _asked…_ "

* * *

Sean frowned. He and Jake had had their disagreements, but he didn't want to see the guy mauled by a sabertooth, especially not after the conversation they had the night before. Underneath the tough exterior, he seemed to be a good guy. And of course, he didn't want MC to be hurt either. Sean didn't know her that well, but he wanted to know more about her. He admired her positive attitude and her willingness to help out and get things done.

Why didn't he go with the two of them? Why didn't he try to help? Sitting here, waiting… it was hard. He wanted to get up; he wanted to help. What if-

"Calm down, dude." Craig, who had been next to Zahra, had crept his way to Sean's right without him noticing. "Just relax."

"I am-"

"No, you're _not._ I know what you're thinking."

"What am I thinking, then?" Sean asked him.

"You're thinking about how hard it is to be left behind."

Surprised, he glanced at Craig, who looked unusually serious as he looked at Sean intently. He was used to the fun-loving, partying Craig. But this Craig, serious and solemn, was one he had seen only very rarely, and despite being his best friend, Sean had no idea what to say.

"Just trust them. It doesn't always have to fall on you, dude. And after being fast enough to punch _you,_ that sabertooth's gonna be a piece of cake for Jake!"

Sean laughed. The thing was, he could _totally_ imagine Jake punching a sabertooth.

* * *

When Jake and MC finally returned, they looked shocked; they looked worried - but they didn't look harmed.

As MC opened her mouth to tell them what they had found, Zahra interrupted her. "Are you both okay?"

The concern in her question was so out-of-character that almost everybody turned to look at her as if she were crazy.

"Uh… yes?" MC replied, puzzled by her behavior. "But anyway, guys, guess what! We found-"

"Did you find the sabertooth? Was it hungry? Did it maul you?"

They both blinked.

"Thanks for the concern, but we're fine, hacker girl. Did you eat any funny-looking plants while we were gone?"

Zahra ignored Jake's question. "So you weren't mauled even a _little_ bit?"

She sounded almost… _whiny._

Looking vaguely disturbed now, Jake and MC made a point of turning away from Zahra as they addressed the rest of the group. "So, we were in this clearing," MC told them, "when we saw…"

While they explained what they had seen, Sean noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and turned. While he didn't see who had moved, he did observe that Zahra looked somewhat disgruntled… and Grace was clutching a five-dollar bill in her left hand as she whispered to Michelle, who was smirking slightly.

Sean smiled to himself. While he had thought that Michelle and Grace coming along was a bad idea, it was nice to see them talking to each other, especially since they were the first two people to make peace during Raj's feast.

As Zahra grumbled about inconsiderate people who didn't even have the decency to be mauled by prehistoric animals, Sean thought to himself that even if this island was completely insane, maybe the new friendships they would all form would make everything worth it.

* * *

(End of Chapter Six.) (T-04/05/17.) (F-15/06/18.)

* * *

 **Chapter Six notes:** (B01-C08.) We know what Jake and the MC were doing during the diamond scene, but I imagine that those who were left behind were probably pretty worried - especially Sean, who is used to being the one to take action and protect the group. Now, he knows a little of how it feels, as Craig pointed out, to be left behind. New friendships are forming in their group, starting with Grace and Michelle… although I think Jake and the MC will want to steer clear of Zahra for a while! **  
**

 **About my main Pixelberry fanfic:** Hello! :) If you like Pixelberry's Hollywood U or Pixelberry's Red Carpet Diaries, then I encourage you to read my MC/Hunt fanfic "NYTMC 1: Not Your Typical Meet-Cute." It currently has 219,000 words (64 chapters), and it is written from Thomas Hunt's perspective :D

 **(Thanks for reading! :D Reviews make me smile! ^_^)**


	7. (Jake) Crustacean Combat

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Choices. This fun game belongs to Pixelberry! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: Crustacean Combat** **  
**

* * *

Jake smiled as he led the others up the mountain. He didn't know what had happened while he and MC were gone, but whatever it was, it seemed to have done the group some good.

Grace, Michelle, and, surprisingly, Zahra, seemed to be talking amiably with each other about various things while Sean and Craig were pointing to different boulders and jokingly asking the other if he would be able to carry that boulder from center-field and still be able to score a touchdown. The higher they ascended the mountain, the bigger the boulders got - and, oddly enough, the more confident their humorous bragging seemed to be…

…but that all came to a halt once they reached the summit of the mountain, where they saw that the sky was filled with stars.

* * *

Jake groaned. There were certain areas of La Huerta where this type of thing occurred. Grace - or, at least, his Grace - had referred to them as temporal anomalies - little pockets where time itself was controlled differently and yet was somehow entirely congruent with the rest of La Huerta's timeline - which, as she explained it, was somehow different from the _world's_ timeline.

In their future, Jake, Grace, Estela, and Diego had mapped out several places on the island where these temporal anomalies were either proven to have occurred, or had a likely chance of occurring. In fact, there were a couple of times when they had attempted to move their headquarters to one of those pockets - but after their third attempt, which had resulted in injuries and dangerous situations that could have been avoided, they had known not to try a fourth time.

* * *

As the others were expressing their surprise about their surroundings, Zahra took the opportunity to look over the edge of the cliff in front of them.

"You said you were afraid of heights, right, Grace? Come over here!"

"No… no way, Zahra! I'm fine right here, thank you very much!"

He smiled. Knowing Zahra the way he did, Jake knew that her calling Grace over to the edge of a cliff was her way of socializing with her without seeming like she was being too friendly. And he was glad, because in the future, Grace was more cautious with her friendships; more careful with the words she chose to say out loud. It was nice to see her like this, openly interacting with the others and not expecting to get stabbed in the back.

"Come on, Grace!" Zahra said, laughing as the cool wind whipped her hair. The leaves of the nearby trees rustled. "You'll see that looking over the edge of this really tall cliff is the best way for you to overcome your-"

But before she could finish her sentence, MC shouted out a warning, and Zahra turned back to the edge of the cliff just in time to see, and avoid, what had been crawling up towards her.

A giant crab, with several pairs of beady eyes, and pincers that were four feet long, shuffled noisily along the rocky cliff as Jake, MC, Zahra, and the others backed away… except for Grace, who was frozen in terror.

Taking advantage of her fear, the enormous crab reared up on two legs the way a horse would, leaned in, and swung a huge claw in the direction of Grace's head…

…only to be pelted between its two largest eyes by a rock, causing it to jump back in surprise.

Relieved that his rock had hit its target, he picked up a larger rock and threw it as well, narrowing his eyes grimly as his aim held true once more.

"Hey, Seafood Special!" Jake roared at the crab. "There's more where that came from!"

And there _was._ Jake would throw rocks and branches and… whatever else he had to throw if it meant getting Grace away from that crab. Grace had lost too much already. Part of that had been because Jake hadn't been there for her last time - not in the way he should have been; not in a way that had prevented her from being abducted from their camp in the dead of night.

He couldn't protect his friend before, but he was going to now. This stupid crab wasn't going to hurt Grace.

Not Grace.

He gestured wildly to everybody else.

"When Grace gets free, go to the edge of the forest and wait there! Don't help me! I can do this on my own!"

And as Jake locked eyes with the crab and charged ahead, everything else seemed to fade away…

* * *

"…Hey, guys, is Jake actually going to fight that giant crab all by himself?!"

"No way! He doesn't stand a chance!"

"Well, _he_ sure seems to think he does."

* * *

"Grace, you're actually alive!"

"Is this your way of saying that you care? That's very sweet of you!"

"…Shut up. I just want a chance to get my five dollars back."

* * *

"Where did he _get_ that thing? It's huge!"

* * *

"Dude, _ouch!_ If I were a crab, I would _not_ want to be poked _there…_ "

"You don't _have_ to be a crab to not want to be poked there, you idiot!"

* * *

"Is he twisting the crab's-"

"It's fine, Michelle, the crab has one remaining- oh. Never mind."

* * *

"Uh, Sean? Shouldn't we help Jake, or something?"

"I say we help the crab. I've never seen a crustacean beg for mercy before."

* * *

(And much later, when they returned to the resort and told the story of the expedition to those who had remained behind, Raj, Quinn, Aleister, Diego, and Lila would wonder why the hidden, inside-a-volcano observatory with the scary interrogation room and the mysterious pod…

…seemed almost like an afterthought to MC, Grace, Michelle, Sean, Craig, Zahra, and Estela compared to "The Night Jake Totally Went Berserk On That Poor Crab.")

* * *

(End of Chapter Seven.) (T-19/05/17.) (F-15/06/18.)

* * *

 **Chapter Seven notes:** (B01-C08C09.) I thought it would be good to build up on that "Seafood Special" moment in the game because of the friendship Jake and Grace form in his future. Also, Estela watching all of this take place. Because Jake does… stuff… to the crab, she hasn't seen the need to show up and help fight it, but she will join the group sometime before they reach the observatory. (As for Jake's fight with the crab… I had a lot of fun writing that part of this chapter! XD) ** ** ** _ ** _ _ **  
**__**_******

 **About my main Pixelberry fanfic:** Hello! :) If you like Pixelberry's Hollywood U or Pixelberry's Red Carpet Diaries, then I encourage you to read my MC/Hunt fanfic "NYTMC 1: Not Your Typical Meet-Cute." It currently has 219,000 words (64 chapters), and it is written from Thomas Hunt's perspective :D

 **(Thanks for reading! :D Reviews make me smile! ^_^)**


	8. (Sean) Arboreal Treachery

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Choices. This fun game belongs to Pixelberry! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight: Arboreal Treachery**

* * *

To Sean's relief, Jake, despite being kicking, stabbing one-man whirlwind only moments ago, seemed to calm down immediately after the deed was done and the gigantic crab was lying on pieces on the floor. Even if they were provided all the superglue in the world, Sean was sure that nothing would put their crustacean Humpty Dumpty together again. And while he had felt some sympathy for it while it had been alive – honestly, with the way Jake had poked it _**there,**_ and then afterwards twisted _**that**_ off, one would need to have a heart of stone to not want to spare it the pain Jake had inflicted.

But those thoughts didn't last very long, because between a powerful, hostile creature and a person that was surprised and defenseless, Sean would choose the latter anytime.

After that, Jake had assigned them different tasks for setting up camp, and of their party, Craig, Zahra, and Michelle would be in charge of guarding the supplies they had brought while keeping a lookout, while Sean, Grace, MC, and Jake would go and gather firewood to make a bonfire.

Sean had offered to pair up with Grace. It was an unusual occurrence, because he couldn't recall having a significant conversation with her before, but he didn't know how many more of those unnaturally large crabs were out there, and having heard earlier that day that Grace had a specific fear of crustaceans, he wanted to be there in case something showed up without warning.

Grace was soft-spoken, but definitely not stupid. From the beaming smile she gave Sean when he had made his offer, he had a feeling that she knew exactly why the two of them were gathering firewood together, and that she was grateful.

* * *

As he and Grace talked, they trailed behind Jake and MC, who were both speaking to each other in hushed tones.

His perception of others was something he would need to consider, because before tonight, Sean would have assumed that he and Grace would have spent their firewood-gathering time in silence. But after after gathering a few light branches, a stray night insect landed on Grace's nose and she grinned and said that the last time she had seen one had been when she was young. She launched into an endearing story of pretending to be an explorer in their backyard, holding her kid's magnifying glass as close as she could to anything that moved; taking note of the movement and habits of the miniature ant, termite, ladybug, and beetle colonies in her backyard.

Sean's siblings didn't have nearly as romantic a view of the tiny inhabitants of the wild outdoors. Upon meeting a tiny creature that would have been a respected member of the insect society occupying the Hall backyard, the unfortunate insect who instead found itself in the Gayle household would be greeted with panicked shrieks, and high-pitched calls for its untimely death. As the eldest sibling, Sean had been designated executioner, and he had never felt anything but indifference towards that role until Grace had vividly described to him the fantastical entomological metropolis that inhabited her own backyard.

Suddenly, there was a rush of movement in front of Sean that made him start for half a second, before he registered it as Jake, who was quickly scaling a tree without any trouble, grabbing one branch, then the other, seeming to know where to grasp and where to step.

As he and Grace crossed the few feet required to come up to MC at the base of the tree, they both heard her laugh merrily and call out…

 _ **"Hey! I can't climb trees! This is betrayal! Don't go where I can't follow!"**_

* * *

Sean wanted to tell Jake that MC was just joking. But Jake already knew that. He wasn't an idiot.

He wanted to tell MC that she shouldn't have said that. But MC wasn't a close friend of his. He hoped that would change in time, but for now, the fact of the matter was that lecturing her, about anything, simply wasn't his place.

It wasn't her fault that her playful statement had bought back memories for Jake. Sean didn't have to ask him for him to know that. He knew that that from the way Jake's figure had shaken for just a second, the motion almost making him lose footing on a tree he had climbed with careless confidence only moments ago, as if he had climbed many similar trees in the past.

The muffled gasp that Sean _**could**_ have imagined he heard but _**knew**_ he didn't, that should have been drowned out by the sounds of birds and insects and wind in the tress, but Sean heard it with perfect clarity because he was used to covering his sister's mouths, muffling their gasps in case their father heard and took his anger out on them for the night, with his fist, with his belt.

Most of all, he wanted to tell himself to forget the look that he had seen in Jake's eyes.

Too many night football drills to make himself the best at what he did, too many nights he looked around the living room, trying to hide everything that was in easy reach that could hurt – he was used to seeing in the dark.

Jake used to be in the military, and he had just single-handedly taken out the gigantic crab that had threatened Grace's life – because Jake was strong, probably the strongest of all of them. And yet he knew that Jake had been hurt, too, somehow, by MC's comment…

…and Sean wanted to forget that haunted expression that he had seen in his new friend's eyes; that anguished look that made him wonder just _**who**_ it was that Jake had left behind.

The look itself had lasted for just a few seconds. For anybody else, it would be easy to forget.

But Sean had a photographic memory.

Sean could never forget.

* * *

(End of Chapter Eight.) (T-24/07/17.) (F-15/06/18.)

* * *

 **Chapter Eight notes:** (B01-C08C09.) I think it would be in keeping with Sean's character to want to look out for Grace so soon after the crustacean debacle. As for the MC, there are significant reasons for why the particular words she said would have an effect on a time traveler like Jake. While Sean and the others don't know those reasons, they do see their effects in Jake's demeanor. I also used the knowledge of Sean's photographic memory that we got in Book Two.

 **About my main Pixelberry fanfic:** Hello! :) If you like Pixelberry's Hollywood U or Pixelberry's Red Carpet Diaries, then I encourage you to read my MC/Hunt fanfic "NYTMC 1: Not Your Typical Meet-Cute." It currently has 219,000 words (64 chapters), and it is written from Thomas Hunt's perspective :D

 **(Thanks for reading! :D Reviews make me smile! ^_^)**


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